En Garde!

En Garde! is a stylish, fast-paced action game centered on swashbuckling combat with a heavy focus on fencing mechanics and environmental interaction. Players appreciate the game’s fluid, physics-based combat that encourages creative use of the environment, such as throwing objects and using parkour elements, making encounters dynamic and rewarding. The game features charming, humorous writing and voice acting that adds personality and lightheartedness to the experience. Visually, it is praised for its colorful, expressive art direction and polished animations. However, the game is notably short, with most players completing the story in under 6 hours, though arena and roguelike modes add some replay value.

Some players found the difficulty spikes and enemy AI inconsistent, with occasional frustrating moments due to unblockable attacks or limited enemy variety. The story, while fun and comedic, is brief and somewhat episodic, leaving a desire for more content. Overall, it is regarded as a fun, unique gem worth playing, especially on sale.

Highlights

Players love the engaging, physics-based combat system that blends fencing with environmental tactics, creating varied and satisfying encounters.

The art direction and animations are frequently praised for their colorful, cartoonish style and expressive characters.

The writing and voice acting inject humor and charm, making the game feel lively and entertaining.

Replayability is enhanced by the arena mode and roguelike challenges, though these are seen as supplementary.

The game successfully captures the swashbuckling fantasy in a way few others do.

Criticisms

The game’s short length is a common criticism, with many players finishing the story within a few hours.

Some found the enemy AI and difficulty spikes uneven, particularly with unblockable attacks and multiple enemy encounters feeling sometimes unfair.

The story is lightweight and episodic, lacking depth and leaving players wanting more narrative content.

Traversal and environmental mechanics are not always consistently applied, limiting the swashbuckling flair in some sections.

The roguelike mode is considered too easy and somewhat tacked on, reducing its replay value.